Are You Ready for an Emergency?

The last few days have been beautiful, haven't they? When the weather in Los Angeles is beautiful, there's nothing like it. But we know, living in an earthquake zone, that disaster can strike when we least expect it. We feel safe knowing we're prepared...

Last year, when we cleaned out our landing strip, we put together an emergency box. It holds all of our important papers. We can grab it in a hurry if we have to evacuate our home. Our landing strip's a small console so we keep it there. A closet near the front door, or any place where it's easily accessible, would also work. Coupled with our computer and a backpack of emergency supplies, we feel prepared to leave our house at a moment's notice. And we hope that we won't have to.

We use a portable file box which we purchased from The Container Store but we also suggest the Vital Records Portavault, which won top honours at this year's Organizing Awards. It was designed expressly for emergencies in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. It contains a checklist of important papers and emergency supplies to help you to organize your paperwork.